Getting A's in math and science isn't the hardest part of high school for Shamica Nolan, a sophomore at Eisenhower High School in Blue Island; it's sidestepping fights and drug peddlers.

"They are just about everywhere. I tell them, `Hey, I'm not into that,' and I walk around the fights," said Nolan, 15.

But Nolan tackles some of school's toughest subjects. Her grade point average is 4.5 on a 5.0 scale. She wants to become a nurse.

"I've been fortunate to have a mother who helps guide me," said Nolan, who lives with her disabled parent and three siblings in a Robbins public housing development.

"I know there are other people who have less than I do," she added.

Twenty Chicago-area sophomores, many from backgrounds similar to Nolan's, received some needed encouragement and a promise of up to $1,000 for college during the Chicago Youth Center's fourth annual Anthony Watson Math-Science Awards luncheon Wednesday.

"While inner-city children face especially troublesome problems, not all of them succumb to gangs, use drugs or drop out of school. They do need a support system," said Delbert W. Arsenault, executive director of the Chicago Youth Center.

The center provides gang prevention, child care, counseling and social development programs reaching 16,000 children in disadvantaged neighborhoods.

U.S. Navy Rear Adm. Anthony Watson, who grew up in Cabrini-Green, offered the students a pat on the back and said overcoming obstacles is a lifetime effort.

Watson did just that while working his way up in the Navy to command a squadron of nuclear submarines. Today, he is a key adviser to the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

To get the scholarships, a student must have math and science grades that do not fall below a B. The Illinois Tool Works Foundation provides the $20,000 a year for the awards, officials said. The foundation will donate $250 per youth for each of the four remaining semesters students keep their grades up.

"I don't see that as a big problem. What makes things difficult is when other students call you a nerd," said Phillip Moore of Chicago's Carver High School.

Other students said the scholarships provide the recognition they need to keep going.

"It's tough to deal with peer pressures that take your mind off the books. I have to use this to keep me focused," said Paul E. Folk, an honors student at Richards High School in Oak Lawn.